20th West End Festival Kicks off in Style

The West End Festival launches today with its biggest and boldest line-up to-date, celebrating 20 years of being Glasgow’s favourite festival. The Kelpies return home and a world premier is planned!

The biggest date in the Festival programme is Festival Sunday, which has seen up to 100,000 people lining the streets of Byres Road, Botanic Gardens, Kelvingrove Park and spilling down to Dumbarton Road. This year it takes place on Sunday, 7 June, the opening weekend, and will start in the Botanic Gardens and come down Byres Road. (Byres Road will be closed from midnight 4th June until 9pm 5th June). The theme ‘Bloom’ will work its way through the parade where organisations from across Glasgow have worked to prepare costumes for participating.

Liz Scobie, chairman of the festival commented: “I’d like to thank everyone involved in the festival this year, helping make our 20th anniversary something special.

"We’ve got a few surprises brewing for later in the month!”

Bailie Liz Cameron, Executive Member for Jobs and the Economy at Glasgow City Council, finished: “This year’s West End Festival is set to be ‘blooming’ fantastic, and I and so many people are looking forward to the tremendous programme of events on offer this month. There is truly something for everyone at the festival, so whether you like music, dance, literature, visual arts or children’s events, there will be something for you.”

The festival features 400 events across 75 venues in the West End throughout the month of June.